Michigan State’s special teams were a problem last season. This year, they’ve become one of the sharpest parts of the operation almost overnight.
That shift starts with Pat Fitzgerald’s decision to bring in LeVar Woods, the former Iowa special teams coordinator who now holds the same job at MSU and also carries the assistant head coach title. Fitzgerald called that hire an obvious win, and Woods has already reshaped the third phase with a full overhaul: new kicker, new punter, new long snapper and a new kick return specialist, all of them transfers the Spartans brought in for this season.
The early numbers have been eye-catching. According to The Athletic, Michigan State ranks third nationally in special teams EPA and sits first among Power Four teams in that category. But Fitzgerald isn’t interested in treating that like a finished product.
"I don't think we're anywhere close to where we can be in the kick game. I think we've got a ton of work to do there, and like I've said since after the first game, we're digging the hole and building the foundation of the culture and the way that we wanna play in the kick game.
Coach Woods and I have competed against each other for a long time. It's funny, we kinda had a little banter back and forth about our competition against each other."
"But we both had established units and ways and mindsets and attitudes and character that we established at both our previous institutions. I would say that right now we feel internally like we're a work in progress.
We're not there yet fundamentally. We're not there in execution.
We're not there in details, and I just think we can play faster. I think we can play more physical."
That kind of public restraint fits the job. Fitzgerald is trying to build this thing piece by piece, and he’s not about to declare anything complete in September. Still, the production has been real.
The Athletic’s breakdown of the Toledo game points to special teams as a major reason Michigan State escaped with a 10-point win. The Spartans picked up 16 expected points in that phase alone, helped by five made field goals, three from beyond 40 yards, and starting field position that averaged 15 yards better than Toledo’s.
There has been one clear mistake so far: Toledo blocked a 54-yard field goal attempt. Even that didn’t carry a massive EPA penalty, since the try was from long range.
Outside of that, Michigan State has gotten steady work across the board. Liam Boyd didn’t attempt a field goal against Eastern Michigan after his strong debut, but he has been reliable on kickoffs, with 10 of his 13 going for touchbacks. The three returned kicks were brought out to the 22, 23 and 28-yard lines, and even Eastern Michigan’s best return to the 28 required a cross-field lateral.
Rhys Dakin has also given MSU exactly what it expected. The punter was used only three times in the first two games, but two of those boots were standout plays.
Against Toledo, his lone punt was fair caught at the eight after a 44-yard kick. Against Eastern Michigan, Tre Bell knocked a 59-yard punt out of bounds at the three.
The return game has brought some juice too. Nebraska transfer Kenneth Williams only has one kickoff return so far, but it was a 47-yard burst against Toledo that ended at the Rockets’ 45-yard line. Punt returner Chrishon McCray has averaged 15.3 yards on four returns, including a 31-yard return against Eastern Michigan that set up MSU at the opponent’s 24 before the offense finished the drive with a touchdown three plays later.
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Michigan State Is Counting On Anton Bonke To Silence One Doubt
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Still, there is a bit of outside skepticism attached to the assignment. College Basketball Report left Bonke off its Top 30 centers in college basketball, even as several Big Ten big men earned spots on the list, underscoring how much Michigan State is asking him to prove right away. For a program that tends to trust its own developmental track, Bonkes season will be about more than simply filling minutes in the middle. [Read more 🡒]